Who is winning these head-to-head battles
between the industry’s biggest magazines?

By Scott Bullock

Whoever wins the Circulation Battles, often wins the Advertising War. Think of the magazines as the Combatants, the publishers as the Promoters (aka Don King), the circulation directors as the Trainers, and the distributors as the Cut Men (no pun intended).

Canadian House & Home vs. Style at Home

These two titans are both outstanding Canadian magazines that regularly outsell their American competitors. They are both award-winning, high quality products.

Canadian House & Home sells for $5.50 on newsstands, while Style at Home sells for $4.95. Both use the same distributor, so no variable there.

In the June 2004 ABC Fas-Fax period (Round 1), Canadian House & Home won the subscription battle…it increased by 7,530 on average, a 4.3% improvement, compared to an increase of 2,887 for Style at Home, a 1.7% improvement. Canadian House & Home edges out its rival with 180,942 subscribers vs. 175,917, a difference of just 5,025 or 2.8%.

Also, in the June 2004 period, Canadian House & Home reported single-copy sales of 73,928 compared to 51,214 for Style at Home, a variance of 22,714 on average or 44.4% more copies sold. Canadian House & Home improved by 13,938 copies or 9.5% from last June, while Style at Home dropped 2,942 copies or 10.2% from prior year. Plus, Canadian House & Home charges a higher cover price too.

This resulted in a big win for Canadian House & Home, whose total paid circulation stands at 240,932 vs. 230,073 for Style at Home, a variance of 10,859 or 4.7%.

In the December 2004 ABC period (Round 2), Style at Home won the subscription battle, posting an increase of 0.6%, while Canadian House & Home lost 3%, resulting in Style reclaiming the subscription leader’s crown.

However, Canadian House & Home continued to dominate the single-copy game, out-slugging Style at Home with a 2.7% gain vs. a 2.8% loss. Canadian House & Home retains its wide lead on the newsstands (75,520 vs. 57,8430).

Overall, Style at Home took Round 2, with overall circulation basically flat, while Canadian House & Home declined by 1.3%. However, CH&H retains bragging rights with the higher overall paid circulation.

Chatelaine vs. Canadian Living
Again, both titles are first-class magazines, and both use the same distributor. In June 2004 ABC (Round 1), both weighed in with high-quality paper stock and perfect binding. Chatelaine’s cover price was $3.95, while Canadian Living asked $3.29…a difference of $0.66 cents or 16.7% less expensive than its rival.

In the June 2004 period Chatelaine shed some weight, dropping 33,535 subscriptions or 5.3% less than prior year. However, it could afford to, as its total subscriptions still weighed in at 600,699 compared to 386,004 for Canadian Living, a variance of 214,695 or 55.6% more subscribers. Canadian Living’s subscription base was basically flat.

The big battle was waged at the newsstand, where Canadian Living holds a commanding lead, posting an average single-copy sale of 126,015 vs. Chatelaine’s 69,913, a variance of 56,102 or 80% better than its rival. However, Chatelaine won this June skirmish, gaining an average of 24,127 more sales than prior year, a 52.7% improvement, while Canadian Living dropped by 13,124 on average, an 8.6% decline.

Clearly, Chatelaine could afford to save money chasing marginal subscribers as a result of their improving fortunes at the newsstand.

In December 2004 (Round 2), Canadian Living battled back, posting an impressive 5.5% gain in single-copy sales, and widening its impressive margin (147,084 vs. 76,251), while Chatelaine posted strong sales, but still declined by 14.6%.

On the subscription side, Chatelaine dropped 13,006 or 2.4%, while Canadian Living lost 8,330 or 2.1%.

Canadian Home & Country vs. Harrowsmith Country Life
These competitors continue to make each other better and stronger magazines. Both use the same distributor and both sport a cover price of $4.95.

Harrowsmith Country Life continues to hold the dominant position in subscriptions, single-copy sales, and total paid circulation, as reported by ABC for the June 2004 period. Harrowsmith Country Life has 112,472 subscribers vs. 105,668 for Canadian Home & Country, a difference of 6,804 or 6.4% more than its rival. And it reports single-copy sales of 15,690 vs. 9,475, a variance of 6,215 or 65.6% better. This results in Harrowsmith Country Life boasting a total paid circulation of 128,162 vs. 115,143 for Canadian Home & Country, a difference of 13,019 or 11.3% more paid circulation.

However, Canadian Home & Country delivered some heavy damage in the June bout, by generating 29,374 more subscribers than prior year, a staggering 38.5% improvement. Harrowsmith won the single-copy skirmish, adding 3,154, a gain of 25.2%, while its rival lost ground shedding 2,506, a loss of 20.9%. Overall, Canadian Home & Country improved by 30.4% from prior year, and Harrowsmith improved by 6.3%. This is going to be a fun fight to watch for years to come.

In the December 2004 (Round 2), Canadian Home & Country continued to relentlessly pound away at Harrowsmith Country Life. Again, on the subscription side CH&C topped the charts with an increase of 22,050 or 22.2% from prior year, while HCL lost 2,690 subscribers or 2.4%. Both titles reported strong single-copy sales, with HCL reporting an increase of 21.9% and CH&C reporting a 17.4% gain.

While Harrowsmith narrowly clings to an overall paid circulation advantage, 125,539 vs. 123,031, the gap between the two has effectively been eliminated.

Fashion vs. Flare
These gals have been tearing each other’s hair out for years. Both use the same distributor. However, in the June 2004 period Fashion raised its cover price to $4.50, while Flare held its price at $3.50.

Flare has historically always maintained a comfortable circulation lead. However, Flare gave back some of that margin with a 9,768 decline or 6.5% in subscriptions, while Fashion held ground. However, Flare came to play at the newsstand, with a dramatic improvement of 54.1% compared to a 2.4% gain for Fashion. Overall, however, Fashion came out ahead on the scorecard, with a modest improvement in total paid circulation, while Flare posted a 2.1% decline.

In the December 2004 period, the patterns continued, and intensified. Fashion reported subscriptions up by 7,711 or 6.3%, while Flare reports a decline of 3,977 or 2.7%. However, at the newsstand, Flare continued to pummel Fashion, with an eye-popping 84.5% gain to Fashion’s flat performance. Staffers credit better rack positions, outstanding covers, and teamwork.

Overall, Fashion took back more ground, with a 5.8% gain in total paid circulation vs. Flare’s healthy 3.9% improvement.

Canadian Gardening vs. Gardening Life
Canadian Gardening, the former Avid title, now Transcon, is the venerable market leader, and is the wily veteran. Gardening Life is the survivor of the shake-out of Toronto-based contenders, disposing long ago with Chatelaine Gardens and Toronto Life Gardens. Both use the same distributor and both sport a cover price of $4.95.

In the June 2004 period, Gardening Life clearly won the round on all counts. GL improved subscriptions by 4,047 or 5.2%, while CG improved by 2,853 or 2.1%. As for single-copy sales, GL posted an increase of 1,897 per issue, a 17.5% gain, while CG lost ground in equal measure, dropping 2,010 per issue for a 14.1% decline. This resulted in a total paid circulation gain of 6.7% for GL, while CG’s circulation held steady. Overall, Canadian Gardening continues to enjoy a wide gap in circulation levels, 152,858 vs. 94,202, for a variance of 58,656 or 62.2% more paid circulation.

In the December 2004 period, Canadian Gardening fought back for subscriptions, picking up 3,346 or 2.4%, while Gardening Life lost 261 for a 0.3% decline. However, on the single-copy front, GL continued to press its advantage, gaining 1,935 or 13.6%, while CG lost 1,805 for a 16.8% decline. Gardening Life now reports average single-copy sales of 16,131 vs. 8,960 for Canadian Gardening, a variance of 7,171 or 80% more. (Watch for this to change, now that Transcon, and the power it can project at the checkout, is brought to bear). Overall, GL won this round with a pick up of 1.8% in total paid circulation vs. 1% for CG.

Maclean’s vs. Time Canada
Maclean’s, arguably the most respected and iconic Canadian brand-name magazine, has recently hired a new editor, one presumes in part, because its circulation has not been growing, in fact has been declining, despite being very deep in circulation expertise. In 2004, Time Canada, with the colossus American money-machine backing it, has been modestly growing/holding on to its circulation base, without the benefit of the love we have for the Colonel’s vision.

In the June 2004 period Maclean’s held the dubious honour of shedding the largest volume of paid circulation of ABC-audited titles, despite a heroic effort at the newsstand. While single-copy sales were reported up 32.9%, subscriptions were down 54,718 or 12.2%, resulting in an overall decrease of 52,921 or an 11.7% decline. Despite this, Maclean’s continues to enjoy an impressive and dominant circulation advantage over its competitor, with total paid circulation of 400,029 vs. 229,280, a difference of 170,749 or 74.5% more weight…a massive variance.

Time Canada does enjoy better newsstand sales than Maclean’s, reporting in with an average sale of 9,260 vs. 7,252. For the period, Time Canada reported subscriptions up by a modest 1,316 or 0.6% and singles down 519 or 5.3%, resulting in a small total paid increase of 797 or 0.3%.

We asked Libby Nixon, Group Consumer Marketing Director, if Maclean’s may have been happy to manage down its paid circulation if it was not the most profitable circulation, while investing resources in reclaiming marketshare at the newsstand. "We have decreased the circulation by 6% vs. 2003 by cutting out marginal customers and focusing our efforts more on the upscale target market which is key for our advertisers."

In the December 2004 period, Maclean’s ranked fourth on the decliner’s list, shedding 24,324 in total paid circulation, a 5.72% decrease from prior year, thus holding its circulation level a smidge above 400,000. Again, subscriptions were down significantly, while the single-copy team turned in another stellar performance.

Libby Nixon said, "Our edit team produced some excellent covers that really resonated with readers. These included service-oriented features like Canada’s Best Schools, Canada’s 100 Best Places to Work, and The Cholesterol Cure. Also, popular topics such as Myth of the Rich and Cracking the DaVinci Code were big hits."

Subscriptions were off by 26,909 or 6.42%, while singles were up an eye-popping 41.1%. This pattern suggests a very carefully managed rate base adjustment.

Time Canada once again chose to hold things steady, with total paid circulation managed tightly to a 0.11% increase, with subscriptions up 0.54% and singles losing 9.4%, as Maclean’s jockeys for newsstand supremacy in the category.

Scott Bullock heads Circ3, a circulation consulting firm. Reach him at scottbullock@sympatico.ca.

For Masthead’s annual Circ Watch feature, examining overall trends and numbers from the most recent audit bureau reports, see the April 2005 issue.